Iagua
Iagua, formally the Iagua Federation is a older, medium sized nation located slightly southwest of the center economic hub of the world. The capital city, New Boryeong is located on the Boryeong Distributary, a man made extension of the Iagua Sea to the downtown center. Counties & Cities List of Cities and Counties (A-Z) History The Charter of Boryeong Era Prior to popularly adopted history of the country, Iagua was not the nicely unionized nation you see today. Less than 620 years ago, the country was in turmoil, and the original constitution left little power to any form of government, and many provinces revolted continuously against the county councils. Under this governing document, The Charter of Boryeong, the federal and local governments had the power to impose small income taxes, regulate commerce between the territories, and prevent wars from breaking out with government created volunteer armies. Essentially all left over powers typically reserved for governments were left for the people to hold referendums. For the local government to gain a power, an amendment to the charter of that county had to be proposed, and passed with a 2/3 majority in support of the amendment. This left little amendments passed, and the few that managed past were often horribly written, or came with side effects not originally foreseen. For a federal amendment to be made, not only did it have to be proposed to a single county, it had to be proposed to all counties, (at the time there were 8 counties). All counties had to approve with 3/4 of the people's direct support, and a simple majority of each county council had to also approve the amendment. If not it failed and the idea was dropped. This system of limited control lasted until a civil war broke out that led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Iaguans. By then, the government had decided that change needed to be made. The New Charter Less than 100 years after The Charter of Boryeong failed which left thousands dead, and two cities completely destroyed. Once again, the people of the country began from the beginning. Now knowing, they need a form of government that provided more regulation and power in the hands of a strong central government, while leaving some power to the county governments and people. Drafting began and was finished 15 months later. The new document was on to the counties to be passed, the framers agreed that all counties must agree to the new instrument of government, or the new charter would not pass. Slowly over the next 9 months, the counties rigorously reviewed and held hearings on the new document. By then, the last county, Cheong-Gu was contemplating rejecting the bill, under fierce scrutiny from fellow county councils the charter was reluctantly passed and still governs the country today, more than 515 years later. The Federation Today Today, the government of Iagua seems almost obvious the way it's run. It's almost impossible to think of a time when many fellow citizens were conflicted on which side of big government they wanted to be on. Today the 15 current counties all have councils that handle local affairs, no single county has a council smaller than 5 members, the larger counties of populations exceeding 20k have councils of 9, and counties of 100k or more have counties of 11 through. The charter does not specify how apportionment works for counties exceeding 100k, but the issue has never arose, as no one county has surpassed that population milestone. Each county also appoints the majority party leader of the council to preside and conduct official legislative proceedings. Separately, each county elects between 5 and 9 members to represent them nationally in the federal government. 1 representative serves in the upper house, while the remaining server in the lower house. For the Lower House counties are often split up into their own districts that each representative is home to. The Upper house; however, is 1 representative per county. Politics The Federation allows for and encourages the people to directly participate in the government and politics of the nation today. The people have several oppurtunities to vote for members to represent them in the government locally and federally. Not only do citizens vote for their council members based on their district in the county, they also vote for their representatives in the lower house, and the representative in the upper house. Additionally, every 4 years, the members of the counties directly vote for a new head of the executive branch. This combination allows for several outlets of citizens to participate in democracy in the Iagua Federation. Recent voter turn outs have dropped surrounding large scandals that have shaken the distrust that many Iaguan's have in their government. Previously elections have held historic highs that are up to 88.7% of the total voter eligible population. In the last presidential election less than 76% of the population cast a vote for a presidential candidate. Many abstained due to a recent scandal involving a member of the incumbent's campaign manager and the rival parties caucus in a nearby city. Government The government of Iagua is heavily influenced of that of a direct democracy. The citizens of the country vote directly for their representatives locally and federally, and for their president. Foreign Relations Military The Military of the Federation of Iagua is heavily centered around superior ground and Air Forces. As of (current year) the military reported owning 480 tanks spread across 4 models. They are stored throughout the country in various bases. The two largest depots are at joint bases in Keulig, and Pikeu Jeolbyeog. Both house 120 tanks each, plus 30 armored missile carrying vehicles. On top of that both bases have several factories and warehouses, Fort Han Mi in western Keulig houses roughly 650 troops at max capacity, and Fort Jaune houses roughly 710 troops at max capacity likewise. These are currently the only two joint naval bases, there is another joint based located at Fort Tae Min adjacted to Boryeong Han Mi International Airport located approximately 1 kilometer north, northwest of the central financial district of New Boryeong. The Air Force is currently in progress of updating it's Air Force fleet and does not have a designated fighter plane at the moment, The dominant naval force of the Iagua Federation is currently growing with a large order of new destroyers replacing the aged T'an Hwan class, named for the majority party leader of the Cheong-Gu county. The navy is also replacing the outdated Sinaesmul Class cruiser soon, no contract has been awarded to a new design. Demographics Ethnicity and Religion Category:Countries